As the 2020 year comes to a close, the sentiments of, “What a year it has been!” and “Glad it is over!” are ringing somewhat unanimously among us.

And can we blame anyone for feeling this way?

Remember the night we welcomed 2020 and sung “Happy New Year?”

There were hopes and dreams and plans for 2020 that came to a standstill as survival became a priority for people worldwide. A survival for health, for jobs, for dwindling money, for resources of well-being at home and outside, eLearning with children, and last but not least, the toilet paper.

2020 brought out the best in the coming of a community to help each other—doctors, nurses, and frontline workers sacrificing their health to take care of the sick. We are indebted to all essential workers from the grocery stores to the ER of a hospital for their service.

2020 also brought out the worst, where we were inundated with conspiracies, disregard of science and truth, mask wars, a doubt that the pandemic exists, and those who lost loved ones.

Like any other year, there is give and take of happiness and sorrow, but 2020 perhaps took a little more out of us collectively than it gave back. As humans, we have an indomitable spirit that can break and bend but does not die.

2020 was only us living in our living rooms in a lockdown—challenging and exhausting—but survivable.

There were some unexpected gifts; we got to know who we are, what we are made of, and who our friends and family are, and we learned to appreciate and be kind to ourselves more—hopefully.

Some of us found our passions and niche that can be pursued, and some did away with toxic relationships that were already there to begin with, but were exacerbated in the face of the pandemic.

Yes, we were broken, but the greatest gift of time is this: nothing lasts forever—good or bad.

Here are 20 of the funniest, most inspirational, and famous quotes and sentiments to add a bit of cheer to the end of the year, to breathe in the new year with hope and faith, and to bid goodbye to 2020.

1. Seriously? We saw how 2020 went. Do we really want to do this, again?

2. Happy 2021! Spoiler Alert: We’re still social distancing.

3. First rule of 2021: No one talks about 2020.

4. Here’s hoping 2021 figures out which Zoom meetings could have been emails!

5. “Thank u, next.”—me to 2020.

6. “525,600 minutes. How do you measure a year in a life?” ~ Rent.

7. “That’s all.” ~ The Devil Wears Prada.

8. “Some people swear there’s no beauty left in the world, no magic. Then, how do you explain the entire world coming together on one night to celebrate the hope of a new year?” ~ New Year’s Eve.

9. “If you focus on what you’ve left behind, you will never be able to see what lies ahead.” ~ Ratatouille.

10. “When that ball drops at midnight—and it will drop—let’s remember to be nice to each other, kind to each other. And not just tonight but all year long.” ~ New Year’s Eve.

11. Welcome, 2021! Here’s hoping you can’t be worse than last year.

12. On the bright side, thanks to lockdown, we never got used to writing 2020 on things, so 2021 should come easier.

13. “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” ~ C.S. Lewis.

14. “Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come, whispering, ‘It will be happier.’” ~ Alfred Lord Tennyson.

15. “Good resolutions are simply checks that men draw on a bank where they have no account.” ~ Oscar Wilde.

16. “You can get excited about the future. The past won’t mind.” ~ Hillary DePiano.

17. “Sometimes a year has been so disastrous and so terrible that entering a new year will automatically mean entering a wonderful year!” ~ Mehmet Murat ildan.

18. The new year stands before us, like a chapter in a book, waiting to be written.” ~ Melody Beattie.

19. “New year—a new chapter, new verse, or just the same old story? Ultimately we write it. The choice is ours.”  ~ Alex Morritt.

20. “Let us be grateful for the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” ~ Marcel Proust.

Here’s to wishing everyone in the new year good health, and to finding true happiness within oneself, giving generously peace, care, and empathy to others, and holding wisdom and virtue to the highest honor.

I believe that the best will come if we can survive the worst.

Here’s to a peaceful, loving, and fearless new year.

~